Rep. Pete Aguilar introduced the Offering Promising Persons Occupations Relevant To Upholding National Interests For Years (OPPORTUNITY) Act of 2018, a bill to help students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) access the Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship Program.

“Cyber warfare is one of the most serious threats to America’s national defense, and we need to do all we can to ensure that we have the most sophisticated cybersecurity capabilities anywhere in the world,” said Rep. Aguilar. He continued, “By having the Department of Defense consider a diverse range of students for their cyber scholarship program, we can ensure that talent from these universities will make our cybersecurity forces stronger while providing an opportunity for students who have been historically overlooked by these types of programs.”

Rep. Aguilar has been a champion of the Department of Defense Cyber Scholarship program, and was able to help restart the program after years of lapsed funding by passing an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2017. As a result of these efforts, 40 students across the country received cyber scholarships and guaranteed employment with the Department of Defense upon graduation, including two students from California State University, San Bernardino.